Phenol is an important chemical of commerce. Many different methods for synthesizing phenol have been described in the literature, most notably the phenol/acetone remote from cumene. In addition, it has been proposed to produce phenol by oxidation of benzene; see, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,995 wherein nitrous oxide is employed as oxidant in the reaction.
As with any process to produce a commercial chemical, it would be desirable to attain further improvements in phenol production.
Dense phase reaction mixture conditions have been employed in various reaction systems, e.g. in the production of tertiary butyl hydroperoxide by direct oxidation of isobutene. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,408,081 and 4,408,082. See also U.S. Pat. No. 6,710,192 wherein propylene oxide is formed by epoxidation of propylene under dense phase reaction conditions.